Farewell, Dick Clark

8 comments:

Hi Rachel. I had the plasure of being one of the dancers on Dick Clark's American Bandstand in 1965 - after he moved the show to Los Angeles. He was a real nice guy considering his position. I couldn't say the same for some of the other TV dance show hosts at the time, which I was also on. Thanks for the memorium.

Christian: Hi, thanks for dropping in. I couldn't let Dick Clark's passing go unmentioned, even on a site that's more devoted to film than TV. He's too much a part of our collective memory. And I'm pleased to hear you had a good experience with him. Dancing on American Bandstand, wow. You haven't written your memoirs yet, have you, Christian? Because if you do, I will definitely buy a copy.

I grew up with him, because Bandstand was still going on in the 70's. Every Saturday it was a date with Dick Clark. People used to say he was like Peter Pan, never aged. I also remembered him covering New Year Eve´s show. He was always charming, debonair, clean, the sort of TV personality you don’t see anymore. Never a scandal, never an ugly rumor. He truly belongs to the past. And because I come from a past when people believed in Heaven, I believe Dick Clark is in Heaven now. Thank you for remembering him!

Rachel, I was about 11 when I first remember watching American Bandstand and being in awe of the older teenagers. I danced every dance with them, adored the singers and never realized they were lip-synching (although the electric guitars with no cords should have given me a hint!) Dick Clark was so handsome, and at that age I wished so much I could have been on the show. Good memories!

The entertainment empire he built was amazing. I still enjoy listening to his old syndicated radio shows when I catch on the radio over the weekend. One interesting fact not mentioned in most of the tributes last week: Dick Clark insisted that BANDSTAND performers lip sync their songs so they sounded like the records.

Declaration of Principles

Classic Cinema, 1930-1965. Reviews, ramblings, moments, kisses, costumes, speeches, cigarettes, sell-outs, trailers, lists, lies, subtext, sarcasm, pretension, poses, and "more stars than there are in the heavens." This blog is for talking about all those things.

About Me

"A fellow will remember a lot of things you wouldn't think he'd remember. You take me. One day, back in 1896, I was crossing over to Jersey on the ferry, and as we pulled out, there was another ferry pulling in, and on it there was a girl waiting to get off. A white dress she had on. She was carrying a white parasol. I only saw her for one second. She didn't see me at all, but I'll bet a month hasn't gone by since that I haven't thought of that girl."